February was a busy month for ACHA advocacy. It started with members of the ACHA Advocacy Committee meeting at the ACHA headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, to discuss strategies for promoting the College Health Index (CHI) legislative proposal on the Hill, submitting regulatory comments to the U.S. Department of Education, increasing member engagement, and plans for successful ACHA Hill Day meetings on Capitol Hill.
The next day, the Advocacy Committee, led by Chairwoman Mari Ross-Alexander and ACHA CEO James Wilkinson, joined ACHA Board President Dana Tasson, ACHA staff, and representatives of the ACHA advocacy support team in meeting with Congressional offices to raise awareness of ACHA and college health and well-being, as well as solicit support for the creation of a CHI. During the Hill Day, we met with 19 offices across the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives.
Later that evening, following a day of meetings, staff from the Senate and House Congressional offices, Administration agencies, and a cohort of our organizational partners met for a reception in the lobby of the Rayburn House Office Building. During the event, ACHA recognized the contributions of Rep. David Trone (D-MD) and Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) for their ongoing support of ensuring college students’ health and well-being. Rep. Trone attended to receive an award and deliver remarks, while a member of Senator Coons’ staff accepted the award on the Senator’s behalf with the Senator sending his regrets for not being able to attend in person. From the momentum of this event, we have followed up with the Congressional offices we met with and have several follow-up meetings secured.
While this was all happening, ACHA submitted three public comments to the U.S. Department of Education supporting sexual violence prevention and response in K-12 and college educational institutions, supporting continued student privacy regulations under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and supporting its Office of Postsecondary Education’s initiative to advance college student mental health and substance use disorder (behavioral health) needs. ACHA also played an integral part in the first Well-Being in Higher Education Week.
As always, if you have questions and/or suggestions relating to ACHA advocacy, please feel free to email them to advocacy@acha.org.
Rep. Trone (center) with ACHA staff and volunteer members at the reception on Capitol Hill
